Living

James and Lily lounging on the sofa together.

Either my dogs are extremely smart and can look at the clock on the wall and tell the time, or they are endowed with internal time clocks.  Well, I do believe my dogs are very, very smart.  I think all dogs are much smarter than people give them credit for.  But, telling time?  No.  Sorry.

It starts with James.  When his internal time clock tells him it’s 5:00 p.m., he gets off the sofa, where he has been lounging for hours while I work, and quietly trots over to the table where I’m sitting, hammering away on my laptop . At this time of day, I’m often writing my daily post for this blog.  He:   sits down right next to me and gently nudges my arm with his muzzle.  I:  keep on working.  He:  nudge, nudge.  I: stop and tell me I’m almost done…  just a few for minutes.  He:  one more nudge, then sits there patiently waiting.

Annie on her throne.

Suddenly, Lily, who has also been lounging on the sofa after playing outside for an hour or so with Annie and Violet, heads over to join James in his effort.  Annie – who uses the footstool as her throne, leaves her private resting spot and comes over and stands staring at me.  Now, the pressure is on.  Violet, lying at my feet, remains lying at my feet.  Is the internal time clock an English Setter thing?  More staring.  More nudging.  The message is coming across strong:  Really, NOW, stop working.  We want to eat.

I’m grateful that the dogs have their internal time clocks.  I tend to get lost in my writing. Time can slip by without notice, and before I realize it, it’s 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.  I’m trying to cut off with James’ first nudge.  Certainly better for the dogs – and for me, too.

I was looking through my digital photo file this morning and came across a series of photos taken by our daughter’s husband Jay Stebbins, a professional photographer in Boston.  I chose my favorite of the group to post here.  That’s Violet in the foreground, our Berkshire Hills Australian Labradoodle.  The photo really captures her happy, fun-loving personality, I think.  Violet is great to take on a hike in the woods.

This photo was taken on a late autumn afternoon when Margie, Jay, and their English Pointer Moose were visiting for the weekend.  We decided to take a walk along the Chesterfield Gorge.  Just 20 minutes from our home, I have never been there  in the thirty years we have lived here.  Violet and Moose had a marvelous time jumping and swimming in the Westfield River, posing on large boulders along the riverbank, and running along the wonderful, East Branch Trail (known as River Road), which rambles through acres and acres of woodlands following the river for seven miles.  Nothing strenuous about the hike.  Mostly flat terrain.  We hiked out an hour, then back.

On a day like today, I daydream about heading there when springtime finally arrives.  Then in hot summertime.  What a great place to cool off on some of the hot humid days we get.  Perhaps pack a picnic and sit by the bank of the river.  Violet is the perfect dog to take on an outing like this.  She goes off a bit, never too far or out of sight.  She looks back, checking for me to catch up to her, or she runs back and walks at my side.  Violet loves her one-on-one time hiking in the woods.  This is what Bright Spot Therapy Dog Violet likes to do best on her days off from her job as a Bright Spot Reading Buddy at the Hilltowns Charter School in Haydenville, Massachusetts where she listens to children in grades 2-3 read books to her.  The time will come, I know.  Each day there is less and less snow covering the ground.  Today, all of my garden beds are exposed, waiting for sunshine to awaken the plantings within.

When it comes to grooming, senior dogs require special care.  That’s what our dearly beloved James, retired Therapy Dog and Champion, is getting these days.  James is now 12 years old.  In his dog show days, James was very much at home being bathed and trimmed on a weekly basis.  When James (and his late sister Julia) retired from the show ring and came to live with us here on Bridgvale Farm and begin a new career as a Therapy Dog, trimming was done on a every-four-weeks schedule with baths when needed to stay nice and clean.   All of our dogs are brushed daily, teeth brushed and ears cleaned 3 times a week, and nails trimmed weekly.  All of this takes place on our grooming table with the dogs standing or sitting during the various proceedings.

Up until age 11, James was fine with our regime.  Now, at 12, his back legs are weakening and he feels insecure being placed on the grooming table (he used to jump up on the table, as the younger dogs do when I tap it with my hand and say, Time for grooming!  They love the one-on-one attention).  Time to make allowances…  For James:  Nails are trimmed while he lies comfortably on the couch (his favorite spot!),  teeth are brushed while he sits firmly on the floor in the dog room.  James LOVES to have his teeth brushed.  He’s crazy about the poultry favored dog toothpaste I use, which makes brushing with his toothbrush very easy.  Truly, he’s first in line for his teeth!  Ears are done the same way, actually before the teeth (saving the best for last….and he knows it).  James is fine standing in our professional dog tub.  He feels very secure – it’s like standing in a box.  I lift him in and he’s shampooed-rinsed-conditioned-rinsed within 12 minutes.  Towel dried in the tub, then lifted down onto the floor.  Bathing is quick, easy, and painless.  (He loves to be clean)

James in the dog tub.

Trimming has been my biggest problem to figure out.  Dogs with hair need proper care – always.  It cannot be neglected in the senior dog.  With our Trudi, who lived to be 16+ years, I tried all sorts of things to avoid putting her on the grooming table.  I tried trimming her on the floor – unsuccessfully.  Nothing seemed to work.  She would lie down on the grooming table and let me trim her, but I knew the whole while I trimmed, she was a bit ill-at-ease.  Trudi was a small English, so lying on the table worked and I trimmed off lots of coat making the trim last longer.  Lying on the table was not an option for James, who is a large boy.  Every dog is different and, for him, I needed something else.

Diane Leveille, a professional groomer who expertly cares for our Australian Labradoodle Violet’s coat, came to mind.  I knew I couldn’t put James through the process of going to the groomer.  He would be needlessly stressed out.  I emailed Diane about James, explaining his senior status.  Understanding senior dogs well, Diane was happy to accommodate his needs.  I brushed and bathed James the night before and Diane came to our house the next day to expertly execute his trim while I still at his side, bracing his body from underneath, speaking softly in his ear, and feeding him his favorite Charlie Bears (tiny lo-cal treats).  His tail was wagging most of the time.  In fact, I had to hold it still for awhile so Diane could trim his back end.  He was a happy boy.  He was done in no time.  And, he looks and feels fabulous.  This is not something Diane normally does.  She has a very busy grooming practice where Violet is checked in every 6 weeks.  But, this special house call was made for our very special senior dog.  We truly appreciate Diane’s willingness to accommodate his needs.

With a slight crispness in the air and a thin glistening frost covering the stretches of grass that have emerged from beneath the rapidly melting snow, James and I set out on our early morning walk together.  As we quietly strolled down the road, the sound of rushing water and the chirping of robins filled our ears.  A little further down, the sun broke through the woodlands, casting rays of filtered sunshine ‘cross our path.  I looked up and spotted a bluebird perched on a tree.  The glorious sights and sounds heralding the coming of spring.  Such a joy to take in nature’s beauty early in the morning.  Quiet.  Peaceful.  I love this time of year, the earth awakening after its long winter’s rest.  I often wonder if people who live in a warm, sunny climate year ’round appreciate nature’s bounty, see, smell, and feel it’s beauty as we Northerners do, when they are surrounded by it most days of the year?

I look forward with great anticipation to the activities we can do with the dogs – more walks, longer walks, never wondering if the roads have a covering of black ice.  Romps in the woods together for hours.  I daydream about spending time tending my perennial gardens, adding new plant species and increasing the beds.  While I spend hours in the gardens, the dogs hang out on their wooded hillside scouting for “wild things” that scamper through the woods.  And, the lazy paddling treks in our kayaks down the Connecticut River.  A trip to Maine, more kayaking there.  So much to look forward to as the seasons unfold.

Last week, Annabelle and Lily went to the vet to have their teeth cleaned.  This week, James had his done.  It’s a bit tough on the dogs because they are put under anesthesia while the teeth are being thoroughly scaled.  Fortunately, none of them had to have any teeth extracted, making their discomfort more acute.  All three of the dogs now have shiny white teeth – and I’m glad that’s behind us.  They don’t need to go through this procedure too often.  They have it done when needed, but that’s only once every four years or so.

Dental health is very important to a dog’s overall health. I follow a regular teeth brushing routine with all of our dogs.  Each dog has his or her own personal (child’s) toothbrush.  Using special toothpaste for dogs (don’t use human toothpaste), I brush all the dogs’ teeth at least three times a week.  This is done in conjunction with regular grooming of their coats, ear cleaning, and toenail clipping.

Some dogs just simply have white teeth.  I envy my friends who have dogs with pure white teeth and tell me that they never brush their dogs’ teeth or do anything else especially for their dogs’ teeth.  Violet, our young Berkshire Hills Australian Labradoodle, has pearly white teeth (at 1 1/2 years of age, she didn’t need any scaling done).  Being a different breed, she may retain very white teeth.  All of our English Setters have tended toward gradual tartar build-up even with regular brushings.

Violet is the type of dog that loves to chew on toys constantly.  The Setters don’t.  I’m hoping Violet’s penchant for chewing will naturally aid in keeping her teeth white.  All of the dogs love chewing for hours on fresh marrow bones which I supervise carefully and remove when the bones start to get brittle.  The key with marrow bones is to choose those that are cut about 6″ in length, that are perfectly cylindrical and about 3/8″ thick.  These don’t break-off.  Replace the bones with fresh ones about every three weeks.  This keeps the dogs really interested and actively chewing.  The combination of regular brushing and fresh marrow bones seems to keep tartar and plague build-up at bay.  And, from a financial standpoint, it’s far less expensive than having the vet professionally clean their teeth!

Annie and Lily heading out to make tracks.

I’m not a winter person.  I’d love to escape down south for the coldest months in New England, returning just in time to open the garden and start planning some kayaking trips on the Connecticut River.  Ah, dream on…

Annie walks the trails.

I’m here in western Massachusetts that I love  ten months out of the year.  The next best thing to escaping winter is to come up with ways to enjoy it.  Snowshoeing is one of those ways.  I love putting on my snowshoes and getting out in the clear, crisp air after a really good snowfall (no sleet, ice, or rain, just pure white snow).  A day just like today – and the sky is a beautiful robin’s-egg-blue.  The exercise is invigorating.  And, the dogs surrounding me have as much fun as I do.  It’s a terrific activity to chase away the winter blahs.

The dogs and I were out again making more tracks in their back field.  I surprised myself and tracked around the entire perimeter, up onto the dog’s wooded hillside and back down to home base.  In my travels, Lily followed behind in my footsteps.  Occasionally, she spurred off, creating some trails of her own.  She was far more courageous in the deep snow today.  Annie went her own way traveling on the trails created on yesterday’s outing.  Violet bounced around and around from one corner of the yard to the other.  Dear James opted to remain on the sofa in front of the fire (such a tempting thing to do!)

Lily blazes some trails of her own.

Annie ready to call it a day. Time to head in.

My trek around the perimeter served an additional purpose.  It gave me a chance to check on the fencing to be sure no tree limbs had fallen causing damage that would need immediate attention.  I started noticing pretty quickly that we have some rotting rails needing replacement.  I began a count.  At least a dozen.  The cedar post and rail fence (lined with strong wire) was installed over 20 years again when we had our first Setters – two Irish girls, Breezy and DD, and our English girl, Beatrice.  The fence has served us well.  I’m always glad, especially in the winter with high volumes of snow, that we opted for the 5 1/2 footer.  With a couple of frozen feet of snow on the ground, it would be pretty easy for the dogs to jump over when siting a wild turkey in the pasture across the street.  Mental note made to do rail replacement come spring.

Back field before tracking begins.

I promised the dogs that I would head outside after breakfast to make tracks for them with my snowshoes.  I need to go out a few minutes ahead of the pack to get things started.  Giving them a place to stand once they’re out the door.

Starting out…

After I stomp around at the doorway creating a wide threshold for the dogs to stand, out they come and The Snowshoe Game begins!  The dogs love to follow right behind me as I trudge through the snow.  Every so often one of the dogs would follow so closely that they’d stand on my snowshoes causing me to fall down in the soft fluffy white stuff, camera in hand being held high to avoid getting buried 2 feet under.

While Lily, Annie, and James followed behind, Violet bounced out on her own, helping to create additional pathways for her less adventurous English Setter pals.  It was pretty rough going.  What I always like about creating pathways  for the dogs this way is the amount of exercise I get in the process.  I feel it’s a great, and safe, cardi0-vascular workout.  It feels wonderful and the dogs have a blast while I’m doing it.  

The dogs and I were outside for about one hour.  The snow was so deep that I only got about a quarter of their territory tracked for them.  I did make an effort to create a pathway up into the wooded area on their hillside they love to hang out on.  While Violet continued to bounce kangaroo-style around the yard, Lily slowly worked her way around the tracks I had already created and

Annie, the scout, in the distance.

Annie raced to the outer limits of the tracks in her scout-like fashion always making a beeline out to the back checking for wild things.

It didn’t take James long to head back to the door where he hung out patiently for the girls to finish up The Snowshoe Game.  More tracks tomorrow.  More fun out in the snow with the dogs!

Thinking of all my Setter friends at The Combined Setter Specialty Shows this weekend and going to the Westminster Kennel Club Show. I have such fond memories of those events when our 3 daughters were showing our Setters. ALWAYS, though, the weather was a challenge getting to and from these shows – but well worth the effort. Nothing beats sitting in the gallery at Madison Square Garden as the magnificent dogs of all breeds enter the breed rings, then the Groups, Best Junior Handler, and the crowning glory Best in Show.  It’s an exhilarating experience to be among the thousands of fans cheering the dogs on as they flow round and round the grand Best in Show ring.  I wish you all safe travels, great wins, and good times.  I’ll be there in spirit and watching Westminster on TV.

Pictured above is our beloved Beatrice (Ch Chebaco Miss Louella Parsons) with one of her 3 junior handlers who took her to Westminster in the 90’s.  She was a superb show girl and the wonderful dog who started my work with therapy dogs in 1992.  Always in our hearts.

Scene through our porch door window. The dogs and I on the inside looking out.

Beautiful to look at…  a traditional New England winter scene.  But…  at times like this, our dogs are our first concern.  Unlike us, they must go outside.   And, getting them outside can be challenging in times of severe storms.  The good thing:  we haven’t lost power here in Westhampton, Massachusetts.  Not yet, anyway.  And, it’s not snowing anymore.  Hopefully, it has stopped for good.

Deep snow is always the hardest on senior dogs.  That’s our beloved James.  After I pushed the door open about a foot and squeezed out to shovel off the step and a small area about six square feet, I let the dogs out.  Poor James looked out on the sea of white and made an about-turn back into the house.  Lily and Annie, the English Setters, used my prep area to do their business in a hurry and scurried back in.  Meanwhile, Australian Labradoodle Violet bounced around the entire dog pen (roughly 30′ x 30′) like a kangaroo out on a holiday!  I think, I hope, she peed somewhere in the snow.  Once Annie, Lily, and Violet were back inside, I managed to cajole James back outside.  Hmmm, he now had something in the snow to sniff prompting him to pee.  Then, right back in he went.

Dogs now fed, I’ll have my breakfast, grab my snowshoes, and head out to make lots of tracks for the dogs to use in their pen.  Then, I’ll try to open the side door to the back hayfield.  Making a track around the perimeter of the field, then criss-cross diagonals has always worked well, giving the dogs plenty of exercise area.  Doing the snowshoe routine is fun for all.  I love getting out in the newly fallen snow on the snowshoes and the dogs have a blast following behind.  The thought of it brings back wonderful memories of our dear little Trudi who, even at the age of 15+ years was out there partying with the pack as we played the snowshoe game.

If you’ve got dogs – and you’ve got snowshoes, drop the shovel and put ’em on – and have some FUN!  (If you don’t have the snowshoes – click on the LLBean website and order a pair.)

When our one year old grandson was here at Christmas time, he singled out Lily as his favorite dog among our pack.  Lily is our sweet three year old English Setter who is a Bright Spot Therapy Dog participating in the Reading Buddies Program at the Westhampton Elementary School.  Lily was as gentle with our young grandson as she is every week with the first and second graders as they read on-one-on with her in the special reading corner of the school’s library.  She ever-so-gently interacted with our grandson as he approached her and pet her face and head.  She just lay calmly relaxed on the floor.  Sometimes Lily would sit next to him in his highchair.  The two seemed to have formed a special bond.

Last week our grandson returned for another visit with his mom while his dad was on business in Boston.  This time he began to notice all four of our dogs He still indicated a strong preference for his pal Lily, but now interacted with gentle James, our retired Bright Spot Therapy Dog, a bit with shy Annie, the pack manager, and seemed to enjoy running his fingers through Therapy Dog Violet’s coat of soft fluffy Australian Labradoodle hair.

His parent’s elderly dog died just before he was born, so our grandson doesn’t have a dog of his own right now to enjoy.  We’re thrilled that he has become such a dog lover, since he has a house full of dogs to visit here in western Massachusetts when his family comes east from Colorado.  Our daughter tells us that he doesn’t stop talking about the dogs at home, so I’m certain it won’t be too long before he enjoys the thrill of having a dog of his own.